Merchants & Miners Transportation Co. And National Organization Masters, Mates & Pilots Of America, Local #9, 1165 (1941)

In the Matter of MERCHANTS & MINERS TRANSPORTATION Co. and NATIONAL ORGANIZATION MASTERS, MATES & PILOTS OF AMERICA,

LOCAL #9 Case No. R-3298.-Decided December 31, 1941 Jurisdiction: water transportation industry.

Investigation and Certification of Representatives: existence of question: dispute as to appropriate unit; refusal to accord union recognition; conflicting claims of rival representatives; prior certification four years before filing of petition, of a rival representative which has never attempted to bargain for the employees involved, no bar to; union certified on the basis of the record, notwithstanding desire of the Company for an election, where all employees in the appropriate unit have authorized the petitioner in writing to represent them.

Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: all licensed deck officers aboard the Company's tug Apollo held to constitute an appropriate unit notwithstanding the desire of a union previously certified by the Board to retain th4m in a unit with all other licensed personnel, where that union has never attempted to bargain for tugboat personnel, where their wages and working conditions are different from those of personnel on ocean-going vessels, where it is customary in the shipping industry to treat them as separate units for the purpose of collective bargaining, and in view of the fact that all employees in the unit found appropriate have designated the petitioner as their representative.

Mr. J. Walter Hands, of Baltimore, Md., for the Company.

Mr. Bayard T. Hurst, of Norfolk, Va., for the M. M. P.

Mr. Robert C. Moore, of counsel to the Board.

DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES STATEMENT OF THE CASE On July 1, 1941, National Organization Masters, Mates & Pilots of America, Local #9, herein called the M. M. P., filed with the Regional Director for the Fifth Region (Baltimore, Maryland) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Merchants & Miners Transportation Company, Baltimore, Maryland, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On October 30, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act, and- Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.

On November 4, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the M. M. P., and United Licensed Officers of America, herein called the U. L. O., an unaffiliated labor organization claiming to represent the employees affected by the investigation. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on November 17, 1941, at Baltimore, Maryland, before Earle K. Shawe, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the M. M. P. were represented by their official representatives and participated in the hearing. The U. L. O. did not appear. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses and to introduce evidence bearing upon the issues was afforded all parties. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner, none of which was objected to, and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. None of the parties filed briefs or requested oral argument.

Upon the entire record of the case, the Board makes the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Company is a Maryland corporation having its principal place of business in Baltimore, Maryland. It operates a fleet of vessels transporting passengers and freight for hire between ports on the eastern coast of the United States. The Company owns 15 vessels and two tugs. At the time of the hearing 8 of the 15 vessels were in operation by the Company while the remaining 7 were chartered to other companies. The two tugs are employed to assist the docking and undocking of vessels and in towing barges to and from railroad terminals. One of the tugs, the Apollo, is operated in the Norfolk,

Virginia, harbor, while the other is operated in the Baltimore,

Maryland, harbor.

For the purpose of these proceedings the Company agrees that it is engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of the Act.

We find that the Company is engaged in trade, traffic, transportation, and commerce among the several States and that the licensed deck officers employed by the Company aboard its tug Apollo are directly engaged in such trade, traffic, transportation, and commerce.

2. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED National Organization Masters, Mates & Pilots of America, Local #9, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership certain employees of the Company.

3. TIE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On April 28, 1941, the M. M. P. requested a conference with the Company for the purpose of bargaining in...